For those over the age of 50 it is starting to get down to crunch time in terms of coming up with a solid retirement plan. The questions so many in this age bracket ask themselves are: 1) How much money do I need to retire comfortably? 2) When will my money run out in retirement? 3) What can I possibly invest in given how low interest rates are today?

Even with the stock market rally of the past year there are still solid dividend paying stocks available. Many investors are concerned with another decade of slow growth and low to negative equity returns. However, one way to prepare for another decade of slow economic growth is to invest in high dividend yield stocks that have shown they can weather tough economic times and even increase their dividends while it happens. One such company is Eli Lilly and Company (LLY). With a dividend yield of 5.0% and a history of increasing dividends over time, LLY is one of my favorite dividend paying stocks.

When investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) or Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), investors are sometimes surprised by the hefty tax bill. REITs and MLPs are taxed at ordinary income tax rates if they are in taxable accounts, which takes a big bite out of the total return for many. But there is a way to get around this tax bill if an investor has capital losses he can use. I call this strategy dividends to capital gains conversion.

It used to be so simple for those approaching retirement. Start trimming the portion of your retirement portfolio dedicated to equities and move into laddered, safe fixed-income. Just 10 years ago you could get a 6% yield on a 10 year U.S. Treasury bond. Now you don’t even get 2%. With yields rising around the world on government debt, the risk/reward tradeoff for long-term fixed income is weighted way too heavily on the risk side these days.

With short-term interest rates still sitting at near 0%, more and more investors have begun to seek out companies paying a reasonable dividend yield. But as many have pointed out, including myself, it’s not just about the yield. The consistency and growth rate of the dividend are of utmost importance as well. With that in mind, let’s take a look at two solid companies with low debt, dividend yields above 4%, and a strong five year dividend growth rate above 8%.